I've just read that if you're a nervous flyer when you hit turbulence, there's a wee trick you can try to settle your nerves. Apparently if you write your name over and over with your non-dominant hand while you're going through said turbulence, your brain is so focussed on this task, you become unaware of the scary situation you're in. Hmm, so what about those of us that think we're such good multi-taskers?? Anyway, if any of you actually get a chance to give this a try, let me know. It won't be me. I don't fly these days..I'm too scared...of turbulence!!

I was contacted by Mark Forrest last week to do an analysis of his handwriting on his evening show. The interview aired about 7.40pm on 6th Sept on BBC Radio. It came about because of a handwritten letter which had fallen out of the pages of a book which was found by a second-hand bookshop owner. The letter had been written fifteen years ago by a mother who was dying, to her 8 year old daughter and the bookshop owner was trying to trace the daughter so that he could hand over the letter to her. It was a really poignant story and it was the reason the show had got in touch. It just wanted to explore the idea that handwriting can actually reveal a person's characer traits. Before long, I was hearing the familiar "Have you been listening to my rants in the office, Jan?" and other such affirmative comments. It wasn't the longest or the most spectacular of my radio interviews but I was pleased to have the opportunity once again to be able to demonstrate the accuracy of Handwriting Analysis. And more than anything, I really hope they find Bethany soon to give her this beautiful letter which she was so meant to have but because of circumstances wasn't meant to have for another fifteen years. What a wonderfully belated gift it will be to receive. And if anybody reading this hears about the outcome of this story, please let me know and I will do likewise.

According to todays Daily Express, scientists have discovered that children learn better by handwriting than they do by typing.....Well...

We Graphologists have known this for years - there's a lot more to Handwriting than you think. If you write and say out loud a 'feel good' mantra', it will have twice the positive effect of just saying it out loud. We assimilate information more easily if we can picture it and handwriting gives us that picture.

There's a beautiful old Islamic saying - Handwriting is the jewellery of the mind, fashioned by the hand, from the pure gold of the intellect."

So, if your child is trying to learn something, encourage them to write down the information. This is not the same as performing penmanship. The quality of the handwriting is not the object in this exercise and in fact, concentrating on the formation of the letters will detract from the learning of the content. So, just encourage them to let their pen flow freely and read what they're writing out loud at the same time.And it works for we adults too!